Each of us, each of us all, have lost someone or something.  Each of us has faced fear – fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of death.  In the moments of experiencing those fears,  and of the sorrow that can accompany them, they were real.  In some instances, they were debilitating.

A series of august jazz programming, is the upcoming month. With our friends at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute paying increased attention to jazz, two local dates by itinerant pianist Peggy Stern, and the second annual Bousquet Jazz Festival, there’s plenty to choose from.

Noted for its Wax Works the Annisquam Seafair is now 178-years-old. We attended this past weekend.

Now 47, the French Canadian dancer, artistic director, and choreographer Eric Gauthier joined Stuttgart Ballet in 1996, where he rose to the rank of soloist. Initially with six dancers, in 2007 he founded Gauthier Dance//Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart.

"Is it Thursday Yet", playing at the La Jolla Playhouse, tells the story of dancer Jenn Freeman, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) when she was 33 years old.  Using actual recordings of her therapy sessions and home videos Jenn’s father recorded as she grew up, the play is essentially a documentary of Jenn Freeman’s life from infancy to young adulthood. Neither Jenn nor her family knew she had ASD.  

he advent of Freudianism somehow severed the mind from the body, but over the past decades, there has been a return to the wisdom of late 19th century philosopher William James who saw the body and mind as deeply interrelated.  

An enthusiastic cyclist, violinist Marieke Neumann was the developer of the “Bach Bicycle Route” in central Germany, featuring guided tours to important locations from the composer’s life. Mezzo-soprano Anna-Luise Oppelt joins her for Bach by Bike to visit towns and cities where Johann Sebastian Bach lived and worked.

Berkshire Opera Festival continues its 2023 summer season with a mainstage production of La Bohème on August 26, August 29, and September 1 at The Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, MA. One of the most beloved operatic love stories of all time, La Bohème is based on Henri Murger's 1851 novel, Scènes de la vie de Bohème, which follows the lives of young people living in the Latin Quarter of Paris

The story is about Laurentino, a man in New York who immigrated from Mexico half a century before.  On his deathbed, he reveals an undisclosed past to his family.  He had a first wife in Mexico who died in the crossing and a son who returned to his native land. A poignant metaphor of the butterfly recurs in the music and conversation.   When the butterfly emerges from its chrysalis and moves on from its life as a caterpillar, it never returns to the same location, reenacting life’s transformation in a new land.  It is only the descendants that circle back to the homeland of earlier generations.

The narrative is historical only in the broadest sense.  While the plot points actually occurred from AD 58 to AD 65, not only are they condensed into one day, but their order is shifted!  Further, the librettist fancifully changes the character of characters, making some good who were actually bad and vice versa.  Who would have thought of the barbaric and narcissistic Nero as also having room for love and magnanimity?  So, for those who lambaste Hollywood for being fast and loose with the facts, let it be known that it had models to draw on

Marina Carr has joined Lady Augusta Gregory in the pantheon of playwrights pictured on the walls of the Abbey Theatre in Dublin.  Her new play "Girl on the Altar" is playing now.

Tony Bennett who won 20 Grammys has died at 96. With a raspy voice that defied description he was a master of phrasing, swing, and insightful interpretation. I saw him upclose in a 1980s pairing with pianist Dave McKenna for PBS. Then more recently at Tanglewood.

Jacob's Pillow is pleased to announce programming for the eighth week of the 2023 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, when the world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company will perform Graham’s Cave of the Heart and Errand Into the Maze, and Hofesh Shechter’s CAVE, in the Ted Shawn Theatre from Aug. 16-20.

Barrington Stage Company, as part of its Black Voices Matter initiative, is sponsoring the 3rd annual “Celebration of Black Voices” community festival.  For 2023, “Celebration of Black Voices” will take place over 4 days - from Thursday, August 10 through Sunday, August 13 on Pittsfield’s West Side.  The festival will feature six free events celebrating the local Black community through artistic engagement.

For the past 15 years artist Peter Dudek has been a part of a team of three that manage Bascom Lodge on Mount Greylock. Prior to that, with Maggie Mailer, he managed Storefront Artists Project in Pittsfield. It brought life to the moribund downtown. Recently we met to discuss a limited edition facsimile of a 1951 Met catalogue American Sculpture.

The Dutch National Ballet’s first visit to Jacob’s Pillow offered a deep immersion in classical ballet, past and present. On every level it belongs to the top tier of dance in the Berkshires.

"Little Montgomery" is a touching comic-drama with relevant themes. New City Players' production runs through this Sunday. Performances take place at Island City Stage near Ft. Lauderdale.

Williams College presents many free concerts during the academic year. This is the schedule of upcoming events.

Roman officers, including Prince Tarquinius, who are in a military camp wager whether their wives have remained constant.  Investigations prove that the wives of all of the men in the discussion have had indiscretions, with one exception.  Lucretia has remained faithful.  Tarquinius is determined to corrupt her morals.  Returning to Rome, his amorous advances toward Lucretia are repelled, and he forces himself on her.  Although not dealt with in the opera, this incident was the crowning blow to the king’s reign, and his overthrow led to the period of the Republic of Rome.

The production uses elements from the original script as well as elements from the movie and subsequent Broadway revivals. This means that the two songs Richard Rodgers wrote for the film – “I Have Confidence in Me” and “Something Good” are included and the original “An Ordinary Couple” is omitted.

In response to an article The Disappeared of Cape Ann, posted to the Giuliano book site, Mary Ellen Lepionka, an authority on the subject sent a lengthy response. During the occasion of Gloucester 400th Plus much scholarly information is coming to light. Her research is presented here as a letter to the editor.

For nearly three decades, Complexions Contemporary Ballet has thrilled audiences around the globe with its full-throttle, high-intensity performances on five continents and in over 20 countries, committed to its mission of “bringing unity to the world one dance at a time.” The diverse and inclusive company is made up of dancers “who blur lines and boundaries and exude an innate passion” (The Guardian). With their programs set to music from Kendrick Lamar, David Bowie, Metallica, and Lenny Kravitz, the company reinvents ballet with a mix of methods, styles, and cultures that engages and delights. 

Drawing from the collection of the late Leslie and Johanna Garfield, this exhibition focuses on the work of six artists: Ada Gilmore Chaffee, Maud Hunt Squire, Ethel Mars, Mildred McMillen, Juliette Nichols, and B. J. O. Nordfeldt—the first pioneering group that came together in Provincetown to practice color woodblock printing.

Jacob's Pillow launched its season with the Mark Morris Dance Group performing an hour long work Bacharach/ David's The Look of Love. During this soggy summer how apt that Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.

Jean Valjean spends his adult life paying for having stolen a morsel of bread for his sister.  Even after a long prison sentence, he finds himself needing to hide and lie to avoid the relentless Inspector Javert, who obsesses over making Valjean pay endlessly for his petty crime.